Johnson, the former World Tag Team Champion, teamed up with Tony Atlas as the Soul Patrol became the first African-American World Tag Team Champions in the organization's history on Dec. 10, 1983, according to WWE.
In 1991, the "Soul Man" retired from the square ring.
Post-retirement, Johnson helped train his son, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who would go on to be one of the biggest stars in sports-entertainment.
In 2008, Johnson was inducted by The Rock into the WWE Hall of Fame.